Community Conversations/Small Group Notes

Dear Community Partners,
Thank you for participating in the recent community conversations related to code and inspections. Your input is critical in helping us better understand and identify opportunities for the City of Battle Creek, residents and stakeholders to work together towards creating a more business-friendly environment within the City and overall community; community input already is being used to do just that, helping guide next steps, priorities and decisions.

Policies and procedures related to inspections impact people and sectors of our community in different ways, so it’s important that we gain feedback from multiple perspectives in this process. We were fortunate to have many of those perspectives, including contractors, real estate agents, business owners, landlords, associations, and organizations present at the Jan. 14 and Feb. 26 conversations.

Now that we have gathered data from the second conversation, we will put a small work group in place to take a look at what we have learned from both conversations, as well as examine data from the City, City staff and the policies and practices of nearby communities, including the City of Kalamazoo, City of Jackson and City of Grand Rapids.

In the meantime, we’d like to take this opportunity to share more about the actions we have taken and what you can expect in the near future:

Notes from the previous conversations have been compiled (linked below) and will be included in upcoming discussions and future decision-making.

A list of Frequently Asked Questions was created (see below) to help answer frequent questions for homeowners, landlords, builder, contractors, trades, etc. in response to your input.

Summary notes are linked below from our visits to the City of Kalamazoo, City of Jackson and City of Grand Rapids, all identified by stakeholders as having business-friendly policies and procedures.

To further our understanding of challenges and opportunities related to inspections, Inspection Division staff is responding to the questions asked during the community conversations.

The City is reviewing all staffing support and procedures related to inspections. This includes the hiring of a new Community Services Director - currently Marcie Gillette. This position oversees not only the Inspections Division, but Code Compliance, Planning and Zoning, and Community Development.

We are all eager to see progress and action towards our shared goal of creating a more business-friendly community here in Battle Creek and appreciate your patience and partnership. Your support, participation, and partnership is important to us and we know we can’t create a business-friendly community without you. As we work together to identify actions and timelines toward achieving this shared goal, we are committed to keeping you informed and engaged in the process.